Careful and Cautious
by Syphira
Summary: Nepeta works at a Bakery with some of her other friends, but when a certain guy comes in and intimidates them all, Nepeta can't help but find some charm in him! Fluffy NepEq. Matespritshipping.


Ninjayoshi28 answered: Nepeta works at a shop, and Equius keeps breaking things in the shop until Nepeta shows him how to handle things gently.

**Series – **Homestuck (MS Paint Adventures; Webcomic)

**Rating** – K

**Pairing –** Equius/Nepeta (Moirails); Hinted Karkat/Nepeta

**Summary **– "If you want to make a _furr_end, then all you have to do is treat them very gently – like a cat!" AU; Prompt.

_**A.N:** _This fanfiction was actually written a few months ago, so if it's horrible, I apologize. I forgot to post it on FFN!

_**Homestuck (C) Andrew Hussie**_

* * *

"_Karkitty! Would you do your _fuu_rend a favor?_"

"I'd consider helping you if you didn't continuously create dumbass **puns** involving a **fucking cat** every five seconds! For **Christ's sake!**"

That's how it normally went for Nepeta Leijon – the owner of the _Leijona_ Market that was quite famous for it's cups of teas and refined sugar cubes placed into several different variations of the tea she sold. She was a small girl for her age – being 17 and around 5 feet tall, and the uniform one of her workers made for all the employees that worked there. Whenever she was to serve some of the customers, she would balance the tray on the top of her head and dash towards the tables that were waiting to be served. When finished with the distribution of tea, she would run back to the counter and check on the rest of the orders – making sure everything went smoothly.

"**Rude! **Karkat, you could at _least _make a glubbin' attempt to be a bit **nicer **to Nepeta, you know!" said the female named Feferi, who was putting on lipstick by using a personal mirror she carried around when she was off duty – like so. Puckering her lips into a duck-like expression to check if the makeup had stayed in place, she put her things back into her pocket and grabbed the apron to tie it back around her waist. "She's one of the _happiest _catfish in the sea – very sincere, and she was able to support you with a bowl and a job. Be a little nicer, would you~?!"

"No, it's okay, Feferi~!" Nepeta let out a small giggle, face filled with a pinch of red. "Karkitty's _always _like this! _Purr_sonally? I'm too used to him making comments like that! It's fine~!"

"Well. . Okay~!" Fef's optimism grew, and she skipped away from Nepeta to retrieve some dough from the freezer – automatically ripping it open with her teeth while using her fingers to knead it into little fish-shaped treats. "Though, you should at _least _tell Karkat something once in awhile. I have a feeling he's going to hurt you in some way, shape, or form, and you may not be able to get yourself out of that!"

"It's fine, Feferi~! I appreciate the advice, and I'll be sure to use it to my little kitty advantage!" Nepeta formed her hands into the shape of claws – pretending she was a cat for a few seconds before skipping back to the register and taking more orders.

Little Leijon already knew how much Karkat could hurt her if she wasn't careful in approaching him. In fact, she had know about this since Elementary school – where the black haired boy made her cry after he yelled at her for taking his swing without the knowledge that he was on it first. She had been tossed several insults in words that only a student in _college _could understand for some time to the point where even _she _could understand what he meant. She knew how far his vocabulary could go, though there were times she saw it explode into another use of new words. She wasn't quite sure if he read the dictionary occasionally, or he just learned them on his own.

She knew Feferi and where she came from as well. Being a coastal person – living around the fish and taking swimming lessons quite often as a child – Feferi tended to make tons of fish puns around the whole team. The fish puns were mostly a success, and could make anyone smile as big as her own! However, Karkat was the only one who thought of it as an "irrelevant, nonsensical, meaningless form of child's play." Talk about _rude_.

There was also Terezi and Kanaya – both who were pretty good friends to her as well. Whenever they weren't working in that little shop she had, they were always up for role-playing in real life, or just simply by typing in their laptops at home. Terezi was unlike all the rest, but at the same time she was so similar to them in several ways. Her vision impairment hindered a lot of her performance when trying to attend school with the other teens, but at the same time she got quite the number of bonuses for having that impairment. Her sense of smell gave her a keen sense of what types of people would come into the store. For example, smelling a sharp stench of cologne usually meant a businessman or telemarketer had come into the store while they weren't looking. If the smell of grass stains and sweat run amuck her nose, she would obviously realize that it was an athlete ready to order some tea and a snack from _Leijona_. Though, she is quite the weird one – every once in awhile running up to the gang to talk about a new smell that had infiltrated her nose while she was "unaware of the scents around her."

Kanaya was. . . Kanaya. She was cautious, she was supportive, and all in all she was. . _Kanaya_. A fashionista at heart, she was the one who designed their uniforms for professional work days and business parties. She was the youngest of them all – 16 at the most – but she seemed like the type that would take everything seriously. That was obviously a lie when people got to know her, however, because she would often instigate some humor in between conversations with other people. While Nepeta would bank and serve, or Karkat would scream and take orders, Kanaya was documenting each and every order – also taking care of the prices and taxes that would be due in order to keep the place going. The girl would often question people about what they had bought – usually drawing attention more to the unique hairstyle she wore with cosmetics every day then she would drag a person's attention involving her words. Today, she was sick, and ended up staying in the work room to take a break while everyone carried with the rest of their objectives.

That wasn't the point today. Today, Nepeta was expecting a visitor from one of the guys that attended school with her. An acquaintance – Aradia was her name – had spoken to the other owners of the store about this boy that went to their school. She mentioned something about him getting nervous whenever a person would ask a question, and at times, she would hear some other student screaming at the top of their lungs after encountering the poor man. She didn't mention anything other than the fact that he could be a bit intimidating if they weren't careful. Though, Nepeta was quite curious to see who the guy was – ruffling her own hair in curiosity and took some time to comprehend her dead-panned companion.

All of a sudden, she heard the door slam open from the other end of the store – quickly hopping out of her thoughts and running towards the door and skidding to a stop when she found two people at the entrance – one, of course, she obviously knew from the start, and the other in which she did not recognize at all. Her smile had faded within seconds, but she was more confused than ever at what. . Seemed to be a male enter the store.

The unknown persona that had entered the store was wrapped up in a neat little sweater – the sleeves of ripped where his elbows should be, and his under shirt being a regular charcoal colored tank top. He wore some fingerless gloves to match with his clothing attire, and the shorts along with striped tights and some cleats were also worn for the day. He _definitely _didn't have an appearance similarity like Karkat in the back, wearing cracked shades and a window's peak that stretched back to reveal his shoulder length locks of dark-colored hair. He was carrying a towel or some sort of cloth with him while he walked inside as well.

Aradia – the one to the left of him with the curly black locks – simply gave a look of a disdain and shook her head. "I really don't think that was required, Equius."

"Oh. . . _Forgive_ me, Aradia. ."

So _**this **_guy must have been the person Aradia was talking about! Oh, how Nepeta's heart swelled up with joy when she found out that there was another person she could become friends with. Though she had to admit, she was quite confused as to why he slammed the door open. Nevertheless, she immediately skipped to the door, giving a wave of hello before bouncing up a couple of times to express her inner jubilence.

"So this is the furrend you were talking about! Hooray~!" She giggled, grabbing a hold of his hand. "I'm Nepeta Leijon! Nice to meet y-"

Squeak.

Her words were immediately ceased after Equius deciding to wrap his fingers around her hand, fixating his sunglasses so he could see through them while analyzing the bubbly girl.

"Equius." He simply stated, picking her up with one hand and shaking her around; for Nepeta, this was quite scary. However, for Equius? This was a normal meeting for the two. "Equius. . _Zahhak_. Pleased to meet you."

"Equius, you are acting out of hand again. . ." Aradia muttered, grabbing his wrist and pulling it back before he caused anymore damage. "Nepeta, are you. . Quite alright?"

"N-Never been. . B-better . ." The girl's head was spinning in circles, her mind discombobulated for a few seconds before she held the sides of her head to stop herself from being so dizzy. Nepeta then shook her head, grinning at the newest customer and potential friend that she had yet to make at that current moment. "So. . W-Welcome to _Leijona_! I'm your _purr_fect owner, Nepeta Leijon, as you already know. You're Equius, right? Come on in, and don't be shy~!"

"I'm . . _invited_, you say. . ?" A drop of water slid down his forehead, the cloth automatically moving towards the area of where he was sweating at. "Oh . . Oh, my. This is. . Quite the surprise for me to encounter in this. . Market."

"There _is _more to it than a bakery, Equius," Oh, how _deadpanned _Aradia sounded along with him, "The latter part of the area is also a shop. Though, I wasn't sure if you wanted to buy something from the store itself, or buy something to eat and take a sip of here."

"In all honesty, I would rather buy a trinket of some sort from this store, than buy something that would most likely get cold as I. . _walk _home, you see." Equius cleared his throat, wiping the damp hands that were sweltering beneath his fingerless gloves onto his pants – staring at Nepeta intently despite what people would consider an awkward introduction. The _Leijona _leader just gave a simple smile and grabbed a hold of his wrist (much to her dismay; all the sweat that trickled onto her fingers was quite disgusting) – dragging him to the other end of the market, ignoring all the other workers as they stared him down from the sidelines.

Kanaya took a few steps towards Fef and Terezi – both who were staring at her with confused eyes.

"I've. . . never seen Nepeta act like this before." She shook her head, "Well. . Maybe with us as a group, but never with a transient man like he is.."

"Actually, I _reel_ly think this is a good oppor_tuna_ty for little Nepeta here," Feferi's sharp teeth gave a huge grin – black cosmetic never smearing off of her lips while she watched Nepeta engage in conversation with him. "That guy. . Was it Equius? Either way, she seems like she's having a really good time with the new Bass!"

"Hehehe~! He smells like quite the man, though!" Terezi giggled, but her smile faded when she smelled the air some more, fixing her glasses all the while. "Though, that stench could get awfully annoying. . Karkles isn't going to like it if I continuously go on about the stench of sweat once this guy leaves. . ."

"Girls, aren't we talking about this louder than we should be?" Kanaya shuffled a little bit, trying to make sure Nepeta didn't spot them gossiping about in the store. "In any case, let's allow Nepeta to do what she wishes to do with that Equius boy. It isn't like it is going to harm our business or anything. _Every _human being is accepted here, after all."

"So does that mean we _can't _hook ourselves on the new guy?!" Feferi pouted, "That would have been so much fun!"

"I. . . wouldn't recommend it to be honest." Kanaya huffed, crossing her arms over her chest. "That Equius guy seems quite. . Awkward whenever someone tends to stare at him long enough. We shouldn't cause such a commotion by staring at the two all day."

"Aw, _fine!_" Feferi sighed, walking back behind the counter. "If you need me, just pass on a wave of your fin! I'm going to see how many of the other buoys are already done with their food so I can clean up some of the shiny shells!"

And so Feferi left, leaving the others to shrug off the alien-like figure, and going back to doing their work before Vantas walked out and screeched at the top of his lungs about how they were apparently "slacking." Everyone knew this happened a couple of times, and even _Aradia_ had to play a part of ordering here in order for the others to not fall into Karkat's consequence of constant yelling. To make sure Karkat wouldn't do anything of the sort, Aradia walked up to Kanaya at the Cash Register, asking for a cup of her favorite tea and grabbing money from the little purse she held onto every day of her life.

Meanwhile, Nepeta was currently showing Equius the array of different types of glassware she had in store in the shopping area; She would pick up a cup from the shelf – examining it with her eyes in case there were any scratches or cracks, and would constantly tell him about the quality and price of all the essential glassware. Nepeta was _sure Zachary_ had patted his head with a towel to the point where it was drenched, and at one point, she wanted to ask if he needed another one. However, she couldn't help but be _slightly _disgusted (and disturbed) with the extreme amount of perspired water he had created and dried up with in that one towel. While she _did _wear gloves with her uniform's attire, they were fingerless and the fact that the sweat could get on them from just simply touching the towel kind of annoyed her.

Though, even with with the sweat going everywhere into the store, Nepeta was still enjoying the time she was spending with the strange man. It wasn't until 15 minutes later that it was about time Equius took some action instead of being guided.

"_Excuse me _. ." He muttered, averting his eyes and fixing his glasses before moving the gaze towards her face. He picked up a coffee mug from one of the shelves, his hand shaking while the handle was beneath his grasp. "I think I would like to pur-"

Though, as soon as he said that, the mug's handle shattered into two pieces – and the mug _itself _dispersed against the hard floor. He looked back towards the mug, but then looked back towards her, a bit tense now that the situation had turned itself around.

"F-For. . . forgive me," He muttered, trying to pick the pieces up with his hands. "I-I'll-"

"Oh! Hehe. ." Nepeta grinned nervously, shaking her head. "Don't worry. I'll get the others to clean it up before anyone else gets hurt!" She noticed Feferi looking this way, waving to her frantically. "F-F-Feferi! Can you help pretty _purrl_ease~?! We need to clean up some broken glass!"

"Ah! No worries, Nepeta, I'll get _right _on that~!" Feferi shouted back from behind the whole counter, grabbing the broom and pan while Nepeta gestured towards Equius to continue following her.

"No worries, Mr. Equius!" Nepeta gave a silly-looking salute, showing him to another multitude of Coffee Mugs. "You don't have to pay for the breaks at all! We have quite the amount of mugs in this market!" She pulled out another, "Try _this _one!"

And once again the royal blue mug that she had given to him shattered while Equius simply allowed it to stand in his hand. The look on his face hardened – eyes narrowing at the amount of shattered glass he had already caused to appear all over the floor. Nepeta's eyes let out a slight dilation, but she shook her head – watching Equius clench his hands into some of the shards in an attempt to cut through the cloth. She felt her eyes soften, watching at him grumble to himself in anger.

"Why. . ?" Equius' disclosure of words were quite soft, but aggressive – sweat dripping down his face while he looked down at the scene before him. "_Why _is it, that when I attempt to make a _single _move with anything relating to glass. . . it _shatters_?! Why can I not. . Touch a single thing on my own without it being _harmed _in some way, shape, or form. . ?"

Equius took off the broken sunglasses and wiped his face with the towel a final time, tossing it towards the ground and growling in frustration. He didn't seem like the type to cry over something as trivial as this, but he _did _seem pretty agitated at the fact that he just broke another item that belonged to the female.

Maybe he _should _pay her back. . .

"Please. . Allow me to . . . exit the store without anymore disruptions." He muttered, turning his back towards the girl. Cerulean eyes gazing down at his hands.

Feferi and Nepeta were both staring at the sight that was in front of them – a bit saddened at the fact that he thought of himself as a nuisance or disruption. Right when he was about to start walking, however, Nepeta skidded against the pearly white floor and stood in front of him – arms spread out to block the door from anyone coming in, or _going out_.

"What is this _foolish_ness that you seem to be causing at a time like this?! C-Can't you see that I've broken a number of things around in your _store_?!" Equius scowled, clenching his fists to the point where he could hear his own knuckles pop or crack from the rattling of the Synovial fluids between his joints. "I would _highly _suggest allowing me to take my leave before I. . . _create _an opportunity to make all your glassware disintegrate into smaller shards."

"But Mister Zachary, you must not worry about a tiny little _paw_blem!" Nepeta squeaked, shaking her head multiple times to show that she disapproved of the boy leaving her store in such a rush. "Why are you acting like that's such a bad thing, Equius? I mean, while it does make a big mess when you break a lot of the glass, that doesn't mean I should kick you out of the store!"

With that said, Leijon had wrapped her hand over one of the smaller, and much more sufficient, _plastic _cups from one of the shelves that were next to the entrance, then grabbing his wrist and tugging it forward towards her to put the cup in his hand. "You just gotta know how to be gentle with these kinds of things~! The same goes with making friends, too."

She released his wrist and allowed his fingers to clench over the cup, placing her own hands over his without hesitation in order to stop his inhumane strength from pushing up against the cup and ruining it in a flash. Looking towards his broken glasses, Nepeta's leafy green eyes stared into the Cerulean sea of his – a large grin growing against her face.

"If you want to make a _furr_end, then all you have to do is treat them gently – like a cat!" The feline obsessed girl watched as his fingers were keeping a steady grip against the cup – not making a dent. Not breaking it in any sort of way.

Just a normal, regular procedure to hold up a cup in any way shape or form.

Equius couldn't _help _but be surprised at the sudden foreign movements he had initiated onto the glass."

". . W-What in the-"

"It's easy Equius, really easy!" Nepeta clapped her hands together, grabbing a hold of his free hand and slowly intertwining her fingers into his own before they could shut and hurt her hand.

"_**All you have to do is be completely careful and cautious!**_"


End file.
